The company, based in Lynnfield, Mass., is the world's leading provider of e-learning systems for higher education institutions. Institutions in more than 70 countries use WebCT's e-learning solutions to expand the boundaries of teaching and learning.

General Linguistics, also known as LING 4040/5040, was the only course from a Texas university named an Exemplary Course this year. The other courses are from universities in Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New York and New Jersey. All were showcased at IMPACT 2005, WebCT's annual conference in San Francisco July 18-22.

General Linguistics provides an introduction to the core systems of languages around the world, with special emphasis on phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax. The course is required for students earning master of arts degrees with majors in linguistics or English as a second language, for students enrolled in the Department of English's graduate certification program in teaching English to speakers of other languages and for undergraduates majoring in English with a concentration in language

Patricia Cukor-Avila and Shobhana Chelliah, both UNT associate professors of English, wrote and designed General Linguistics as an Internet course last year with the technical and programming assistance of the staff of UNT's Center for Distributed Learning. The professors also developed Principles of Language Study, LING 3960, the prerequisite course to General Linguistics, as an Internet course. Principles of Language Study is a required course for all undergraduate English majors and students who plan to teach preschool, kindergarten or elementary school.

Both courses, which were previously only offered as regular classroom courses, are now offered online every semester and during the summer.

"The beauty of having these courses online is that students can take both before they set foot in the classroom," Chelliah said. "We have a lot of interest from international students about the certificate program, and they can take General Linguistics in the summer via the Internet before they come to Denton."

Cukor-Avila said the course includes many audio files, video clips and interactive activities to mimic interaction in the classroom.

"The most successful web courses combine interaction with pages of information, just as the most successful classroom courses combine interaction with lecture," she said.

In one phonetics activity, students view a diagram of the oral cavity, and must label the parts. In others, students click on buttons to hear audio files and see animated illustrations of how various consonants and vowels are articulated. Optional activities suggested to the students to help them understand acoustics include gathering empty bottles of different sizes and blowing into them to review different tones.

Study tips are presented on the web pages, and students interact with each other by posting messages about specific topics in the class discussion board. The grade for the course is determined through quizzes and comprehensive tests at the end of each topic presented during the course.  

General Linguistics was first taught on the Internet in the fall 2004 semester, with 25 students enrolled. It is currently being taught during UNT's second five-week summer session, and will be offered again in the fall 2005 semester.

Philip Turner, UNT's vice provost for learning enhancement, called the course "an outstanding example of what can be accomplished when you combine the creativity and commitment of two outstanding faculty members with the high level of technical support that our Center for Distributed Learning provides."

"This course is one of five that are part of a university-wide project to use emerging technologies to enhance the undergraduate experience at UNT. I'm delighted that it has received international recognition," Turner said.

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